


knight

by savedby



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, Podfic Available, Toronto Maple Leafs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 20:45:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9675755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savedby/pseuds/savedby
Summary: Mitch isn't really thinking about much when he throws himself at Ristolainen. He just knows that Auston is in trouble.or,coda to the Sabres game





	

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all knew I had to do this.
> 
> If you haven't seen it yet, [here's Mitch flying to Auston's rescue](https://twitter.com/nhlnylander/status/830621156646346752). And here's some of Auston's quotes afterwards ([x](https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/830624140679925762), [x](https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/830625228241907713)). I have not recovered from this.
> 
> Thanks to Jess for the beta, you're a peach.
> 
> If you're more comfortable consuming fic in audio version, then there's podfic available, read by the lovely Dell, which you can find at the bottom. I recommend you listen to it even if you read it, because she nails the voices so well.

  


  


The locker room is quiet, like it always is after a loss. There’s a few half-hearted words of encouragement and Babcock comes in to yell at them, but seems to find no joy in it in the wake of their dejected faces. 

  


Mitch can feel Auston watching him from across the room and he hates how tense it makes him. He’s felt his eyes on him since they came in the tunnel after the third and every time he turns back to look, he meets Auston’s gaze, dark and unreadable. It’s more than a little disconcerting.

  


They’ve only got a few minutes to catch their breath before the media is upon them and Mitch gets busy answering questions. There’s not that many and they’re all standard enough that he can give his answers with minimal thought.

  


He catches the edge of Auston’s interview as he wraps his up.

  


“...he’s an unbelievable teammate,” Auston says, and he’s not looking at the camera anymore, but past it, at Mitch, who stands, frozen for a moment, before he shakes it off and turns back to his stall.

  


After media, the mood is a little lighter. Mo and Jake are arguing over something awfully domestic, and on the other side, Bozie is lobbing socks at Connor, who’s just trying to fix his hair in the mirror. The adrenaline in Mitch’s body is slowly ebbing away and he’s beginning to feel the bruising on his side. The doctor checked it over and pronounced it fine, but you don’t just walk away unscated from 230 pounds falling on top of you. 

  


He shrugs on his jacket and waits for Auston by the door. Matt passes him by, ruffling his hair affectionately.

  


“I’ll have to teach you some fighting moves if you’re going to keep being Auston’s knight in shining armor,” Matt says, grinning. Mitch rolls his eyes.

  


“I wrestled him down, didn’t I?”

  


“I’d say it was less wrestling and more like synchronized falling,” Matt snorts, then looks at someone over Mitch’s shoulder. “Speaking of falling - your damsel is here to collect you.”

  


Auston doesn’t fit the moniker of damsel under any circumstance, but especially not now, face still a little flushed from exertion and a mostly blank expression on his face. Matt opens his mouth as if to say something more, and a muscle in Auston’s jaw twitches as if on cue. Matt closes his mouth. Even he’s not brave enough to antagonize Auston when he’s in a bad mood.

  


And Auston is certainly in some kind of mood, which becomes apparent in how he doesn’t say a word all the way to the car. Auston is driving tonight, which suits Mitch just fine, because he’s approaching exhaustion. He tunes the station to something soft and mellow, and Auston doesn’t contradict him, just puts the car in drive.

  


The silence is a little tense, but it’s not completely uncomfortable, and Mitch finds himself listing towards the window, lulled by the music and the gentle motion of the car. He isn’t even aware that he’s fallen asleep until he wakes up to Auston opening the door and he almost falls out on the floor of the underground garage.

  


Auston steadies him with a hand on his shoulder, then helps him get out of the car. He’s got Mitch’s bag slung over his shoulder and he locks the car as soon as Mitch is standing, so asking him if he’s coming up seems redundant. He’s already decided.

  


Auston shadows him all the way up to his apartment and through the front door, and while Mitch settles on his couch, he can hear him rummaging around in the freezer where he keeps his ice. 

  


Mitch has barely managed to shrug off his suit jacket when Auston comes striding back in with a huge bag of ice and frowns at him. Mitch looks back a little helplessly, because despite what Auston thinks, Mitch can’t read his mind. He doesn’t know the play here.

  


Auston sighs like he does every time a reporter asks him if he’s ever played pond hockey, and Mitch is still confused, but it makes anger stir and rise up in his gut.

  


Auston drags his bag of ice to the couch and before Mitch can react, he’s already unbuttoning Mitch’s dress shirt and sliding the towel wrapped ice underneath to press it against Mitch’s bruised side. Mitch hisses when the cold hits his skin and Auston looks up at him in concern, then immediately looks away.

  


“Are you mad at me or something? For fighting that guy that was on you?” Mitch finally breaks the oppressive silence. 

  


Auston blinks at him, blankly. “No,” he says and Mitch fights the sudden urge to punch him a little. That happens sometimes when Auston decides he’s not going to make any sense. It usually leaves Mitch with bruised knuckles, so he’s been trying to avoid it.

  


“But you are mad?”

  


“I’m not.”

  


“Bullshit.”

  


Auston looks away, fusses with the ice on Mitch’s stomach some more, even if it’s as settled as it can be. His thumb presses into Mitch’s skin where he’s holding up the towel and the warmth of it is shocking next to the ice. Mitch is so distracted by it that he startles when Auston finally speaks.

  


“I don’t like you getting hurt because of me,” Auston says, quietly and Mitch’s heart does a little flip in his chest.

  


Still. He’s not letting Auston off the hook that easily. “That guy was going for your head. What was I supposed to do, let him give you a concussion? You know I couldn’t do that.”

  


“I’d rather have myself in there instead of you.”

  


Mitch raises an eyebrow. “Are you saying I can’t take it? That I’m too weak to play in the NHL?”

  


“No!” Auston looks sufficiently horrified, which is gratifying.

  


“Well then I hate to break it to you, Matts,” Mitch says, wryly, reaching to smooth some of the hair from Auston’s forehead, “but we play a little game called hockey and it happens to be pretty physical.”

  


“I know that-” Auston starts to say, but Mitch cups his face in his palms and kisses him to cut him off.

  


It’s not the first time they’ve done this, but it’s the first time they’re both fully sober. Auston sighs softly, finally relaxing, and he lets Mitch direct him onto the couch, though he’s still carefully holding the bag of ice to Mitch’s skin, even when Mitch settles across his thighs.

  


It’s a little bit uncomfortable to find the right position, but it’s with Auston, watching him with dark, fond eyes, so Mitch supposes he can deal with some discomfort to thoroughly reassure him how completely fine he is.

  
  


*

  
  


“Hey, Marns?”

  


“What?”

  


“Thanks for fighting that guy for me tonight.”

  


“Yeah, any time. Call me your knight in shining padding.”

  


“...that’s so lame.”

  


“Shut up and kiss me.”

  


  


*

  


  


“You know, it’s actually a pun, because I used to play for the London Knights and-”

  


“Oh my god, please stop.”

  
  


  


  


**Author's Note:**

> You just know they're gonna call Auston 'damsel' all season.
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](http://muzzmurray.tumblr.com/) and let me know what you think.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] knight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9855740) by [frecklebombfic (frecklebomb)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frecklebomb/pseuds/frecklebombfic)




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